"Okay, wait outside till l come," he said and closed the gate. Few minutes later, he came outside, beckoning that l should follow him.
Everywhere inside looked beautiful; the flowers and the tiles all made the compound adorable. l had only visited Mr Alex once when I was ten. I couldn't even recall how the compound had looked like then. I was led by the gateman and l walked innocently into the living room. It seemed to me like a paradise. The curtains, the sofa and the plasma television, which was the size of the blackboard we used in school, all differed from the ones we had at home. It was greatly appealing. l never thought there was such a place in Aba.
"William, you are here. We have been expecting you for a long time now," Mrs Alex said with a smile on her face.
"Ma, l don't understand. Expecting me?" l asked as l was confused on why she would have been expecting me.
"Don't worry; you will know soon. Come let me show you your room," she said and l followed her up the stairs until she opened the door at the extreme of the corridor. "This is your room. l hope you find it comfortable," the woman said calmly.
"Sure, l will, ma; it is nice."
"Feel at home, dear; l will just leave you for now. Come down in the next thirty minutes and join us for lunch."
"Okay, l will," l said, quickly closing the door behind me and lay on the large Vita foam beside the wardrobe. let felt cool. l had never lain on such a foam before. A plasma television, which was smaller than the one I had seen in the living room, the home theatre, refrigerator and air conditioner, all made the room cool and pleasurable. Mrs Alondra, one of our neighbors, had told me that my things were here at Mr Alex's place. l slowly opened the wardrobe at left end of the wall, beside the large foam, and couldn't help swallowing a gasp. My clothes were all there, ironed and put on hangers, together with some new clothes which where more sophisticated than all the clothes l had ever worn. l opened a bag, which was also in the wardrobe, to see what was inside. An envelope was in it and l opened it and saw it was Mum's handwriting. In it was written, "My son, you are all that l ever had. It was hard for me to leave you, but l was left with no choice as l had to leave for something really important. l will be back soon to see you, and if possible, take you back with me. l knew you would go to your Uncle's place so l made sure everything was pleasurable. Take care until l return. Love you, sweet." l sighed gravely after reading the letter.
Everything l had believed about her were all wrong.
I never knew who my mother really was, l thought.
I changed my clothing and climbed down the stairs, towards the dinning table. Mrs Alex and her three daughters were already there, waiting for me.
I stared lustfully at the three young ladies as I stopped abruptly on seeing them. Daddy had told me about the youngest daughter, whom he had said, jokingly, that he would arrange for me to get married to in the future. She had an assertive chin, a glowing cheek accentuated by high cheek bones with light brown mobile eyes. The fine features of her silky skin were delicately aligned without spots or wrinkles.
She was a marvel of elegance, perhaps the prettiest of the three.
"William, come and join us. Hope no problem," Mrs Alex said.
"Not at all," l said casually, sitting down, facing the three daughters opposite me.
"These are my daughters; Mary here is the first, Patricia the second and Linda over there is the last," Mrs Alex said, smiling broadly, probably excited at how pretty her daughters looked.
"Linda! That was the appropriate name to be given to such a damsel," l thought.
"And what is your name, or you don't have one?" the eldest of the daughters asked rudely.
"Well, this is William Brakor, your cousin. You remember Aunty Barbara, the one that does come here often," her daughters all nodded. "This is her only child," Mrs Alex said. "Okay, now introduction is over, let's eat quietly," she added as soon as she heard no other questions from her daughters.
We ate silently and l wondered if actually God was about to bless me with another family. l couldn't get my eyes off Linda as l kept staring at her until lunch was over.
It was dark already as soon as l woke up. l had slept on the couch in the living room in the course of watching a movie. The time was 1:00a.m. and l wondered if actually the wall clock which hung in the living room was correct. l stood up wearily and climbed up the stairs, towards my room. l felt like a drunken giant walking with the limbs of a mantis.
Seconds later, l heard voices, faint voices as though they were talking through their noses. l tip-toed down the corridor to particular room from where l had heard the voices. l could hear the couple clearly now as l listened cautiously with my ear pinned close to the door.
"The mum said he belongs to a cult; so we must watch him carefully," Mr Alex said.
l swallowed. Mummy had actually gone around spreading the news of me being a nuisance!
"Poor thing, why won't he belong to one, when his parents cared less about telling him what is right?"
"Even the stealing had begun from home, courtesy of his parents; nonetheless, he is a criminal that I'm just accommodating because of the little reward l received in return in kind."
My heartbeat increased. What reward was he even talking about?
"Alex, in kind? What the hell does that mean? Did you?" Mrs Alex asked the husband.